I’m Andrea Savage, creator and star of I’m Sorry on truTV. I like to laugh. Let’s do that. AMA!

Can you ask Tom Everett Scott if his favorite band is still "Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters?" Tell him it's Lenny

I will text him now!

he said yes. and thanks Lenny.

I have a massive billboard with you, mouth agape, that I pass every day on the way to work. Should I vandalize it? If so, how?

100% yes. Not a dick in the mouth. Not clever enough. That is beneath you.

My wife and I, who are parents of two boys (7 & 3), love love love the show. Thank you.

Due to the content, do you have to have any ongoing chats with the parents of the actress who plays your daughter? You know the whole Nazi / blackface scenes.

Again... "I'm Sorry," is perfect.

Yes. I do. And also even more with Olive herself. As a mom myself, it has been so important to me to make sure that she understands that we are really showing people how silly ideas like judging people on the color of their skin really are. I take her aside often and just chat with her. And trying to talk to her in a level she can understand with some big issues.

You knew Zach Galifinakis before he was cool. What was he like on the set of Dog Bites Man?

I knew Zach for years actually before we did DBM. And he is a truly wonderful human being. Not only one of the funniest people in the world, but also kind, supportive and smart. And he was like all of us on the set, enjoying each other and making each other laugh. But uncomfortable with the tricking aspect of the show.

Thanks everyone. Been super fun! Have a great weekend!! xoxo

Hi Ms. Savage -- I love you on Veep. How did you create your over-the-top Spanish accent? Do you speak Spanish, or did you create it from scratch?

Thank you! I do speak Spanish! It's the only other language I speak. so for the audition I just decided to speak totally normally and then for the few Spanish words go way over the top. And it worked!

Thank you! I do speak Spanish! It's the only other language I speak. so for the audition I just decided to speak totally normally and then for the few Spanish words go way over the top. And it worked!

Thank you! I do speak Spanish! It's the only other language I speak. so for the audition I just decided to speak totally normally and then for the few Spanish words go way over the top. And it worked!

If someone sent you a spec script for I'm Sorry, would you read it or is the show your baby and you're all set for writers? ;)

Hard question. we have so few writers because the show comes from my real life so much, so we are set that way. And I would be worried that I would read it and it would be similar to something else we wrote and then it would seem like we were taking your ideas!!

How did you get cast to play a lesbian on Episodes?? Please have the details be as lascivious as possible. If they are not lascivious, please make some up.

Hahaha! I auditioned for it! Once on tape and once to meet Kathleen for a chemistry read for the creators. But I can send you to a lesbian porn site and then you can pretend that storyline is my path to Helen Bash? Is that helpful?

Once you play a lesbian, you have a lesbian fan base for LIFE. You're just going to have to accept this.

~signed, one of the lesbians

(And yes, send link.)

I love it. And accept it with open arms!

Who do you admire most in the comedy spectrum? And what is the hardest part of your job?

I admire soooooo many people. But the first person to come to mind is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Hardest part of my job for this show has definitely been the stamina and never ending focus that this show demands. From the writers room, to preproduction, casting, locations, wardrobe, set design, acting, producing, etc and then editing the shows. It takes almost a year beginning to end of full energy and focus. And I also am a mom. So it is exhausting and you have to treat it like a marathon. But worth it!

Well for what it's worth the show reflect your teams effort. So funny and the atmosphere feels natural. One of the best shows I've seen. Great job in life:)

thanks! xox

My favorite aspect of your show is the relationship you have with Tom Everett Scott - great chemistry. You are so adorable, it must be easy. But was this one of the main themes you wanted to communicate in the series?

This was truly maybe the biggest goal of the show. I feel like the show lives and breathes in the relationship of Andrea and Mike. It is the grounding force that allows my character to be pretty out there. And I had never seen a couple on TV that have been together for a long time who still love to be together and have chemistry. Which is crazy, as so many people I know are very happy together after many years!

as show creator, what is the oddest workaround you've had to come up with due to budget/legal constraints?

Ha! Great question. So many weird things. We have often have to use locations for many scenes, so right around the corner from the preschool classroom, might be a nail salon, created in an office space somewhere on the premises. I made a mandate that we were not going to have any exterior night time scenes because then you are shooting nights, which destroy me. So we only have 2 scenes and we shot them on a Friday night. And the dick biting pic probably had more emails with lawyers, discussions of shaft, pubic hair than you can possibly imagine. Months of discussions!

there's plural lawyers who specialize in dick biting pic legal conundrums?

oh there are gaggles of dick biting pic lawyers. and it bleeds into lemon tree/homosexual chalk trees. that was another insane amount of back and forth for months.

Veep has notoriously over the top insults and nonchalant vulgarity as a staple of the scripted dialogue, did it take any special focus to be able to make it through your scene with Timothy Simons without breaking? Is it a relief to be able to play a character on a show where the use of swearing is so liberally used?

Fuck! I just wrote a long answer and it disappeared!! Basically, I love to swear, so it is a win/win for me. And oddly I have this ability to not break in a scene, kind of no matter what, and then as soon as they yell CUT I fall apart. And this scene was improvised in the whole rape the president part, so it was super fun.

Is Zooks anything like his character on "I'm Sorry"?

Yes and no. Our relationship is definitely our real relationship in life. We are very close friends. We give each other constant shit, have an amazing repartee and love each other to no end. But we are not writing partners though. In terms of the story stuff, ASS CUBES, dating, etc. that is based on another single friend of mine.

I stumbled upon I'm Sorry, it's safe to say I am hooked! I just love the scenes with you and Jason together. Do any stories from real life make it into episodes?

Thank you, JM is the best. This is our 5th or 6th job we have done together. We love it. And oh yes. Ass cubes, porn mom, racist daughter, asshole lesbians, rape therapy. Kind of all of it stems from something in my real life!

i've got one more question (hopefully this isn't against the rule, this is my first time posting in an AMA)... for The Dick Pic™ in Im Sorry, i saw the video of y'all washing dildos in the sink. that doesn't mean they were previously owned dildos right? or does Trutv draw the line for giving money meant to buy new ones? i must know!!

hahahaha! No, they were fresh. But Joey Slamon, my showrunner, and I were rinsing them off because we had to put them in our mouths to show the lawyers what we hoping to show in the episode. Before you ask, you will never see those photos!!

Hi Ms. Savage, can I ask, what is the best thing a director can do for you on set?

Thank you. :~)

It kind of depends on the project really. TV directors are different in their role than movie directors. And it depends if I am on the set as an actor or a creator. But I would say be prepared, set a professional tone and respect the other professionals you are working with.

The daughter from I'm Sorry is doing a great job. How do they let you swear around her?

I actually don't think I have ever sworn in front of Olive. We frame her out of the shots and remove her from set. We have had a few innuendo'd conversations in the car with her in the back seat, that she doesn't really understand, but we always give her new toys to distract her from what we are doing. And she usually falls into her own dream world.

Mustard or mayo?

always both. always.

My girlfriend loves your show. She recently told me that you're her spirit animal. Is that a good or bad thing?

well, good for me...

what are the best and worst moments from dog bites man that never made it to air?

There is a whole episode that never aired. It was our team and we accidentally spent the day with the KKK, thinking it was a fun, family friendly story about American families having clean fun together. And we realize it half way through. And shooting that was one of the scariest days of my life. We legitimately didn't know if we could get out of there alive, we were in the middle of the woods in rural Tennessee. I was getting married two weeks later in real life and was like, I can't believe I am going to die this close to my wedding.

have you seen any footage of it since then -- do you think it should air or is it best left in the vault with jerry lewis' holocaust clown movie?

i would actually love to see it!

Hi Andrea! You liked one of my tweets once and it made my day!

I love I'm Sorry, it's definitely one of the best shows of 2017. It's Curb Your Enthusiasm for parents (and just as funny) Geez I need a question here, don't I?

How much of the show is based on things that actually happened to you?

Also, please tell me you've already been renewed for Season 2?

Thank you!! And most of the storied are based on things that have actually happened to me. That being said, lots of details and story points are based on other writer's experiences with similar events and exaggerated for comedic purposes! I am much less inappropriate in my real life. Even if I am thinking it, I know better than to say it. Well, usually. Oh god.

what is the weirdest cult or fad do you see emerging among fellow actors (besides scientology, juice cleanses, and improv)?

Someone told me they were training with a woman who specializes in relaxing your butthole. Apparently that is where we keep 90% of all of our stress.

"I'm Sorry" is so much like Curb. Was this part of the pitch?

Well I am a HUGE fan of Curb. That kind of show is my favorite to watch. So It was part of the pitch so much as in, it is a single point of view comedy where I play a version of myself. And the tone is very grounded, where you almost can believe these characters are real people in real relationships. But not in the tying together of stories, etc. The pilot has that element, but as a series is diverges there.

Which movie is better, Godfather 1 or Godfather 2?

Do I have to choose? For reals...tied.

What's the weirdest question a fan has ever asked you?

Did you enjoy working on Togetherness? What's it like to be married to David Benioff?...People quite often think I am Amanda Peet.

do you ever get confused for another celebrity (confession: when I'm Sorry started having ads, for a split second i thought you were Andrea Barber) or asked if you're related to another famous person (like ben/fred savage)? if so, has it lead to any funny/awkward exchanges?

Ha! Just finished typing an answer above. Amanda Peet. Often. And yes, people always have asked about Fred. No relation. I am not related to any of the famous Savages!

Who is the funniest person on the show? (Excepting yourself of course)

Impossible to answer! It is an embarrassment of riches. I mean, that cast.

How much medication is Manzooks on and does he suspend taking it when filming "I'm Sorry" ?

Hahaha! I think this is Zooks chemical free. Scary.

What TV shows influenced you when you were growing up? What are some of your fav shows you watch now?

I grew up on the sitcom. FACTS OF LIFE, Different Strokes, reruns of Three's Company, etc. But I LOVE LUCY reruns were definitely the biggest influence in my life. Now, I will admit I don't watch a ton of TV, but recently have watched GoT, Stranger Things, Search Party, Family Feud, Catastrophe..

Hey Andrea! I know you're busy with your own show (love it!) but as the new season of iZombie just started filming I have to ask:

Might we see any more of Vivian Stoll? No body tends to means no death in genre shows, and we never saw her actually get on that chopper.

Sadly, I doubt it. I know that is not what you wanted to hear. Sorry!!

Really enjoying the show—if you do a second season, can we get more Gary Anthony Williams?

If we do get a second season, nothing would make me happier. I love Gary!!

What was your favorite movie/show that you've done in your entire career?

Edit: I'm surprised I passed grammar school.

Well. It would have to be I'm Sorry. Cause it's my other baby. But other than that. Probably STEPBROTHERS!

You used to do stand up. Are there any videos for us to watch?

I actually don't know. I will have to find out. I never did a special, but there must be something, somewhere. I stopped around 2006, so it was right before it would have been posted on the internet automatically.

hello! i absolutely LOVE I'm Sorry, it is brilliant and hilarious.

i'm not sure exactly how to word this question but i'm wondering if you had always planned to release the show on TruTV or were there other networks that you pitched it to? it just seems like they don't have other scripted shows and i kinda wish it was on a streaming service so you could be even more over the top inappropriate.

either way i'm super grateful for this show and i hope it gets picked up for another season!

Hmm. I am not sure exactly how to answer this. ;) We pitched the show to different places and truTV was the most passionate and open to me doing the show exactly how I wanted to do it. That is rarely the case in TV! And they were actively trying to redefine the future of their network into more scripted programming. So it seemed exciting to have the possibility, if the show turned out well, to be a defining show for their network. Like getting in on the ground floor!

Are yours & Kyle’s characters also performers on the show (Improve, stand-up, actors)? And how many times did you rewatch Hard Ticket To Hawaii?

No, we are writers, but with a past in performing. And sadly, I only had time to watch it once!